Fill me afresh with Your Spirit this day. I let go of all else and open my life to all of You. Enable me to resist the temptations of the flesh that would cause me to stray from the path You have for me. I don’t ever want to minimize all that You want to do in my life. Help me to be ever mindful of Your presence in me, and may I always hear Your clear leading. I want to show my love for You by embracing You with my worship and touching You with my praise. Teach me all I need to know about how to keep my place of worship clean from wordly distractions and how to give myself to You in ways that are pleasing in Your sight.

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13 It was nearly time for the JewishPassover celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. 15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.”

In this text we are given a peek into the Father’s heart.

I don’t know about you but I don’t just express anger or irritation over any old thing. It’s only the people, places and situations that matter most to me that are able to get under my skin.

The Temple was first constructed by King Solomon in 1 Kings Chapter 6 and then rebuilt later by King Herod.

In order to try and understand ‘why’ Jesus would have such an out-burst regarding the spiritual environment in The Temple allow me to pose a few questions.

How would you feel if I acted in such a way that disrespected your living environment or placed things in your home that did not properly represent who you are?

Being a believer in Jesus Christ what if I placed a picture of a Hindu Yogi on your wall and wanted to open your home to teach mystical yoga techniques?

What are some of the feelings that may arise in you , if I were to bring those type activities and atmosphere into your home or your church?

Disgust, hurt and anger are very possible emotions that may surface. And a feelings of being disrespected too!

Remember, Jesus was humanity and divinity all wrapped up inside one package.

Jesus so represented The Father, that their Will was the same, their hearts were sold on the same points and value structure.

The money changers were there to convert currency from one type to another. And the many vendors there in The Temple were brought there as a convenience so that one that might need or desire to make a ‘sacrifice’ would have what they needed at their finger-tips.

It’s kind of like having a talking ATM inside the “church”! speaking to us of the importance of paying our tithes and offerings and all the while printing off information of different types of currency and how to convert them into the dollar! On the surface some might think ‘Oh how convenient for me to with-draw funds for my tithes and offerings right inside the church”!

But all too soon this ‘gesture’ of convenience would most likely become a distraction from the true focal point of gathering at the Church.

Jesus states ” My Father’s house is a house of prayer not a market-place”!

God’s house meant to honor Him and give Him a permanent place to dwell among His people. It was to be a place where the people could since His presence, hear His voice and send up their prayers. In short it was meant as a place of pure worship of Him. And this point was being sorely missed by the money changer and commerce going on inside The Temple.

Jesus acted on the authority that His heavenly Father had given Him to make His this point and ‘clean house’ in The Temple that day.

In order to be prepared to worship God we need to leave everything but our love and thoughts of Him outside of the Sanctuary!